The present invention relates to a heat exchanger for cooling hot gases, especially those deriving from the synthesis of ammonia, by means of preheated and evaporating water and consisting of a shell, in which a bundle of tubes that are secured in tube sheets connected to the shell is positioned, whereby an outgoing chamber and, inside it, an incoming chamber for the gases to be cooled are connected to one of the tube sheets and whereby partitions that create one or more chambers are positioned inside the shell.
A heat exchanger of this type is the object of the as yet unpublished German Patent Application P 3 302 304.2. The tubes in that heat exchanger are U tubes. The gas to be cooled flows through the bundle in a sequential heat exchange that involves two media. If the gas were to be cooled further by means of still another heat exchange involving a third medium, another assembly with pipelines to connect the two assemblies would be necessary.
A heat exchanger with bundles of either straight tubes or U tubes is known from German Offenlegungsschrift 2 753 469. Two media that are conveyed in parallel flows participate with heat exchange with a third medium.